The 'eggs in one basket' problem is the biggest reason I want us to get off the planet sooner rather than later.
I just want to send the telephone sanitisers, marketing girls, management consultants and hair dressers to another planet. That can't end badly... can it?
Finder of radioactive tool auditioning for role in a movie - Look out, Radioactive Man!
Director - Congratulations, you are our next Fallout Boy... is what I'd be saying if you weren't lying on the floor vomiting blood from radiation poisoning.
I've meet heaps of people who do one course in programming (sometimes a one or two day course) and end up thinking they are programmes (some even claiming to be as good as 'other programmers'.
But, very weird this has come up. As I had a bad experience today due to people who 'think' they can program.
Long story short, an old program of mine was 'hacked to death' by a person who thought they could program. The guy now maintaining the code (another programmer) asked for my help today, and we eventually worked out that back in May the non-programmer who had been maintaining the code removed vital bits that did the calculations etc. So, for the last 3.5 months the business unit has been running with code spewing out incorrect data... and they didn't notice! Sheesh!
But, programming, like most things, can be done to a certain extent by anyone, but to excel at it and understand it requires a certain mind set. In the same way that people can swim, but will never be Olympic swimmers, and people can cook, but will never be a cordon bleu chefs, and people can write but will never be an novelists, people can program, but some will never be able to write elegant, powerful code the way it is best written.
In the past 12 years I've had 2 mobile phones and 6 PC's/Laptops (maybe 7). Why would anyone buy a phone once a year? That doesn't make sense. In some cases all your apps would cease functioning, especially if you were one of the sorts of people who switches between phone OS's (and I know a few who went Apple -> Android).
For networks of any kind, a CCNA works wonders. I know it's a certification, (which is what you expressed avoiding) but there are enough resources out there to learn everything that it contains for free, then you just need to sit the exam (which costs $$$). But, even when I used to work with Nortel equipment, the CCNA seemed to be valued more than the Nortel equivalent (I have no idea why). But, it at least proves some Networking chops. The thing I hate about certification though is they only last three years, and if you let them lapse (as I have done), you end up looking like you know nothing even if you have enough pieces of paper to get the bonfire going for your cremation after you die (which is a joke my friends make about how many pieces of paper I have earned over the years). I'm in the middle of going back and getting re-certified in several IT areas, simply because I need to look like I know something, and I've been in IT for 25 years (longer if you count my first real IT course in 1981). I've met others who have been in IT for 25 years who never got past setting up desktops or Helpdesk, so the cert. at least helps differentiate you from those sorts of people. Then, there are the CompTIA courses (which I believe others have mentioned), which are similar in the fact there are free resources and you just need to pay for the test.
For some reason previous experience doesn't always seem to count with some companies, especially if non-IT knowledgable managers are in charge (where pointing out that you looked after a WAN that connected 360+ different LAN's together just gets you blank looks). They only seem to understand a piece of paper.
The only other thing I can recommend is cheaper certification from places like Brainbench (never used them myself), where it's about $50 per test. I have no idea how much weight those certs carry as I've never met anyone who had one, I just know of their existence because someone online recommended them to me to get certs from back in about 2000.
When I did Geology at Uni in 1984 they explained sedimentary rock as just being formed due to it being deposited and building up over time. Water was only one way (the main way), but debris blown by the wind and being deposited was another, as well as glaciers, ice, and even earth movement (ie a landslide - volcanoes - earthquakes). The water being nec. probably sticks in your head because on earth about 99% of all sedimentary rocks formed that way and either 1. your teachers didn't include the other ways as they probably thought none of the students would ever use the knowledge in life, and/or 2, because all the video's etc in earth sciences use visuals/animations that show water evaporating and leaving sediment behind that turns into stone. But the pressure, and some other factors are enough to cause the debris to turn into stone. Sedimentary rocks caused in deserts from the wind blowing the sediment is probably the most common 'non water' type of sedimentary rock formed. Who knows, on Mars it might be the most common cause of sedimentary rock. There is also nothing to say that there isn't enough moisture in the Martian atmosphere to help the sedimentary process. The 'dryness' they refer to in the article may be relative.
WD-40 is mainly fish oil, so maybe they can use some fish oil if they have it. (Yes, I realise you were being funny - but, I'm now curious if fish oil will work in space like WD-40).:-)
It's sad that he has passed away. I remember it being all over the news when they landed on the moon (though, being only four at the time I didn't stay up to watch it). I do remember in 1972 staying up late at night to watch the last Apollo missions beams live on TV. It was a great thrill (especially for someone as young as myself).
It is also sad that it has also brought you the lunatic fringe. I'm in several arguments with people who are busy slamming him and calling him a liar and a fraud etc and saying he never walked on the moon. In spite of them not being able to prove the things they are saying, they just refuse to acknowledge any evidence (including 3rd party evidence) that man has been to the moon. I guess you just can't argue with stupid.
From what I read two days ago, the USADA claims they have stored samples that they claim will prove Armstrong was taking drugs. It's something that seems to be missing from the summary above (I haven't read the article). I was discussing this with friends the other night. I think if they have the proof they need to have the enquiry continue in order to remove the doubt about the testing. ie show there was at least one positive test. They have 10 witnesses (I think only two of them from memory were caught drug cheats). If there is a positive test, then their testimony is proof that he was taking the drugs knowingly (as opposed to a coach giving an athlete what was thought to be 'vitamins' or something). But, as I said to my friends, at the end of the day it's whether the stored samples actually test positive to something that should be the proof. Let everyone put all their cards on the table, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The way I explain it (now) - It's like World of Warcraft, but instead of a computer/s doing the visual stuff, it all happens in the heads of those playing the game. A bit like how stories around a camp fire or on radio used to be before television did the images for everyone.
The popularity of WoW and other games of that nature prove that it can be understood by millions. They may not nec. like it or love it, in the same way that some people like some sports and hate others, or how some people like certain genres of fiction books but hate others, but if they can understand liking something (anything), then they should be able to accept that you like to play games that take place in your head rather than on the screen etc.
The way I used to explain it - it's like a book/movie, except you & you're friends are the characters.
I'd like to hear their opinions on whether or not Kentucky should be allowed to remove evolution from their biology exams. I can see it as a two edged sword in some states, and I'd like to see how they answer it.:-)
Lucky for me I invented a cloak of invisibility that I have right here... er... wait... I left it over there I think... er... has anyone seen my cloak of invisibility?
Ah, yes, I often tell the young whipper snappers at work what it was like flying in the 1960's (and early 1970's), when I myself was a young whipper snapper. For instance, we were given FREE playing cards, a chess set and colouring in books and pencils. All had the airlines logo on it etc, so was free marketing for them. One of the guys at work got back from London the other week and was saying how he bought a model plane for $80 on the flight... a model with the airlines logo etc on it. You can also buy other 'marketing' items, like playing cards etc, but now the 'Free' in 'free marketing items' means the airline gets the 'free' bit, not the passenger.
Depends on the timing of the schedule. At one place my normal day was 13 hours long, with the occasional longer day (some 23-24 hour days thrown in only to go home, get 1 hours sleep and back to work), and unpaid week end work. My bosses often criticised me for not being productive enough etc. Yet they'd still expect me to meet their unrealistic deadlines under threat of being fired if I didn't. (Like asking at 5PM for me to set up a network consisting of a server and four computers for a demonstration meeting at 9am the next morning). I never could work out whether they were doing it deliberately or were just very stupid. I was pretty burned out by the experience and ended up moving departments. (To a department that thought I was a real catch as they used to see how hard I worked, as opposed to my bosses who thought I never did anything). They ended up replacing me with four other people. But point is, my health suffered, I had little to no social life, so most of my friends moved on, I was always stressed and sick and eventually was even vomiting blood. But, that's because it was pretty much unrelenting. I know other people who do 4 days x 12 hours on, then 4 days off. They didn't suffer any ill effects because they were at least getting a break between the 4 days there were on (and left as soon as their shifts were over).
I once worked for a company that had code that had started being written in the 1960's that they had continued to build on that was all spaghetti. In the late 1990's they decided to un-spaghetti it. At one stage I was given four programs (all spaghetti, no documentation) to work out what they did and rewrite them. They came to 10,000 lines of code. I managed to do it in 2 weeks. (This doesn't include the code review by three other programmers or the testing by the testing department to have them sign off and agree it all worked. It didn't require any changes or rewrites, so was good code). So, someone working at the same pace could theoretically complete the task in 40 weeks. Of course, this doesn't take into account the complexity / obfuscation of the code. But 200k lines of spaghetti at it's worst, maybe a year and half for a lone programmer to complete (taking into account program code reviews and testing etc).
I'm surprised Hawaii isn't using it's Volcanoes to generate geothermal power. I would hazard a guess it might be a lot more feasible than solar panels etc that can get damaged in tropical storms.
Wonder if they can do something similar to rabies, where they induced a coma and drip feed anti-virus drugs into the infected person. Then wait and hope the person and the anti-viral drugs have enough strength to kill off the virus.
Slashdot Mirror
The 'eggs in one basket' problem is the biggest reason I want us to get off the planet sooner rather than later.
I just want to send the telephone sanitisers, marketing girls, management consultants and hair dressers to another planet. That can't end badly ... can it?
Finder of radioactive tool auditioning for role in a movie - Look out, Radioactive Man!
Director - Congratulations, you are our next Fallout Boy ... is what I'd be saying if you weren't lying on the floor vomiting blood from radiation poisoning.
I've meet heaps of people who do one course in programming (sometimes a one or two day course) and end up thinking they are programmes (some even claiming to be as good as 'other programmers'.
But, very weird this has come up. As I had a bad experience today due to people who 'think' they can program.
Long story short, an old program of mine was 'hacked to death' by a person who thought they could program. The guy now maintaining the code (another programmer) asked for my help today, and we eventually worked out that back in May the non-programmer who had been maintaining the code removed vital bits that did the calculations etc. So, for the last 3.5 months the business unit has been running with code spewing out incorrect data ... and they didn't notice! Sheesh!
But, programming, like most things, can be done to a certain extent by anyone, but to excel at it and understand it requires a certain mind set. In the same way that people can swim, but will never be Olympic swimmers, and people can cook, but will never be a cordon bleu chefs, and people can write but will never be an novelists, people can program, but some will never be able to write elegant, powerful code the way it is best written.
In the past 12 years I've had 2 mobile phones and 6 PC's/Laptops (maybe 7). Why would anyone buy a phone once a year? That doesn't make sense. In some cases all your apps would cease functioning, especially if you were one of the sorts of people who switches between phone OS's (and I know a few who went Apple -> Android).
For networks of any kind, a CCNA works wonders. I know it's a certification, (which is what you expressed avoiding) but there are enough resources out there to learn everything that it contains for free, then you just need to sit the exam (which costs $$$). But, even when I used to work with Nortel equipment, the CCNA seemed to be valued more than the Nortel equivalent (I have no idea why). But, it at least proves some Networking chops. The thing I hate about certification though is they only last three years, and if you let them lapse (as I have done), you end up looking like you know nothing even if you have enough pieces of paper to get the bonfire going for your cremation after you die (which is a joke my friends make about how many pieces of paper I have earned over the years). I'm in the middle of going back and getting re-certified in several IT areas, simply because I need to look like I know something, and I've been in IT for 25 years (longer if you count my first real IT course in 1981). I've met others who have been in IT for 25 years who never got past setting up desktops or Helpdesk, so the cert. at least helps differentiate you from those sorts of people. Then, there are the CompTIA courses (which I believe others have mentioned), which are similar in the fact there are free resources and you just need to pay for the test.
For some reason previous experience doesn't always seem to count with some companies, especially if non-IT knowledgable managers are in charge (where pointing out that you looked after a WAN that connected 360+ different LAN's together just gets you blank looks). They only seem to understand a piece of paper.
The only other thing I can recommend is cheaper certification from places like Brainbench (never used them myself), where it's about $50 per test. I have no idea how much weight those certs carry as I've never met anyone who had one, I just know of their existence because someone online recommended them to me to get certs from back in about 2000.
When I did Geology at Uni in 1984 they explained sedimentary rock as just being formed due to it being deposited and building up over time. Water was only one way (the main way), but debris blown by the wind and being deposited was another, as well as glaciers, ice, and even earth movement (ie a landslide - volcanoes - earthquakes). The water being nec. probably sticks in your head because on earth about 99% of all sedimentary rocks formed that way and either 1. your teachers didn't include the other ways as they probably thought none of the students would ever use the knowledge in life, and/or 2, because all the video's etc in earth sciences use visuals/animations that show water evaporating and leaving sediment behind that turns into stone. But the pressure, and some other factors are enough to cause the debris to turn into stone. Sedimentary rocks caused in deserts from the wind blowing the sediment is probably the most common 'non water' type of sedimentary rock formed. Who knows, on Mars it might be the most common cause of sedimentary rock. There is also nothing to say that there isn't enough moisture in the Martian atmosphere to help the sedimentary process. The 'dryness' they refer to in the article may be relative.
Purchase a Migawari or two. You'll be fine!
WD-40 is mainly fish oil, so maybe they can use some fish oil if they have it. (Yes, I realise you were being funny - but, I'm now curious if fish oil will work in space like WD-40). :-)
*This can only end badly!* :-)
So, if it starts p!$$!ng down (rain) over his old office, we know what's happening.
It's sad that he has passed away. I remember it being all over the news when they landed on the moon (though, being only four at the time I didn't stay up to watch it). I do remember in 1972 staying up late at night to watch the last Apollo missions beams live on TV. It was a great thrill (especially for someone as young as myself).
It is also sad that it has also brought you the lunatic fringe. I'm in several arguments with people who are busy slamming him and calling him a liar and a fraud etc and saying he never walked on the moon. In spite of them not being able to prove the things they are saying, they just refuse to acknowledge any evidence (including 3rd party evidence) that man has been to the moon. I guess you just can't argue with stupid.
From what I read two days ago, the USADA claims they have stored samples that they claim will prove Armstrong was taking drugs. It's something that seems to be missing from the summary above (I haven't read the article). I was discussing this with friends the other night. I think if they have the proof they need to have the enquiry continue in order to remove the doubt about the testing. ie show there was at least one positive test. They have 10 witnesses (I think only two of them from memory were caught drug cheats). If there is a positive test, then their testimony is proof that he was taking the drugs knowingly (as opposed to a coach giving an athlete what was thought to be 'vitamins' or something). But, as I said to my friends, at the end of the day it's whether the stored samples actually test positive to something that should be the proof. Let everyone put all their cards on the table, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The way I explain it (now) - It's like World of Warcraft, but instead of a computer/s doing the visual stuff, it all happens in the heads of those playing the game. A bit like how stories around a camp fire or on radio used to be before television did the images for everyone.
The popularity of WoW and other games of that nature prove that it can be understood by millions. They may not nec. like it or love it, in the same way that some people like some sports and hate others, or how some people like certain genres of fiction books but hate others, but if they can understand liking something (anything), then they should be able to accept that you like to play games that take place in your head rather than on the screen etc.
The way I used to explain it - it's like a book/movie, except you & you're friends are the characters.
1.8 parsecs! Ptttthhhh! That's less than the Kessel run!!!!!
I'd like to hear their opinions on whether or not Kentucky should be allowed to remove evolution from their biology exams. I can see it as a two edged sword in some states, and I'd like to see how they answer it. :-)
Lucky for me I invented a cloak of invisibility that I have right here ... er ... wait ... I left it over there I think ... er ... has anyone seen my cloak of invisibility?
Ah, yes, I often tell the young whipper snappers at work what it was like flying in the 1960's (and early 1970's), when I myself was a young whipper snapper. For instance, we were given FREE playing cards, a chess set and colouring in books and pencils. All had the airlines logo on it etc, so was free marketing for them. One of the guys at work got back from London the other week and was saying how he bought a model plane for $80 on the flight ... a model with the airlines logo etc on it. You can also buy other 'marketing' items, like playing cards etc, but now the 'Free' in 'free marketing items' means the airline gets the 'free' bit, not the passenger.
Depends on the timing of the schedule. At one place my normal day was 13 hours long, with the occasional longer day (some 23-24 hour days thrown in only to go home, get 1 hours sleep and back to work), and unpaid week end work. My bosses often criticised me for not being productive enough etc. Yet they'd still expect me to meet their unrealistic deadlines under threat of being fired if I didn't. (Like asking at 5PM for me to set up a network consisting of a server and four computers for a demonstration meeting at 9am the next morning). I never could work out whether they were doing it deliberately or were just very stupid. I was pretty burned out by the experience and ended up moving departments. (To a department that thought I was a real catch as they used to see how hard I worked, as opposed to my bosses who thought I never did anything). They ended up replacing me with four other people. But point is, my health suffered, I had little to no social life, so most of my friends moved on, I was always stressed and sick and eventually was even vomiting blood. But, that's because it was pretty much unrelenting. I know other people who do 4 days x 12 hours on, then 4 days off. They didn't suffer any ill effects because they were at least getting a break between the 4 days there were on (and left as soon as their shifts were over).
Fortunately, the Auction Houses in WoW still takes these sorts of things.
They learn binary, only two things to remember, '0' and '1'. But it does take all day to teach a boss both. :-)
*Imagines Dickens jamming with Jimmy Page*
I once worked for a company that had code that had started being written in the 1960's that they had continued to build on that was all spaghetti. In the late 1990's they decided to un-spaghetti it. At one stage I was given four programs (all spaghetti, no documentation) to work out what they did and rewrite them. They came to 10,000 lines of code. I managed to do it in 2 weeks. (This doesn't include the code review by three other programmers or the testing by the testing department to have them sign off and agree it all worked. It didn't require any changes or rewrites, so was good code). So, someone working at the same pace could theoretically complete the task in 40 weeks. Of course, this doesn't take into account the complexity / obfuscation of the code. But 200k lines of spaghetti at it's worst, maybe a year and half for a lone programmer to complete (taking into account program code reviews and testing etc).
I'm surprised Hawaii isn't using it's Volcanoes to generate geothermal power. I would hazard a guess it might be a lot more feasible than solar panels etc that can get damaged in tropical storms.
Wonder if they can do something similar to rabies, where they induced a coma and drip feed anti-virus drugs into the infected person. Then wait and hope the person and the anti-viral drugs have enough strength to kill off the virus.
Alien Versus Predator Versus Jaws